JOHN F. FLOYD: Museum, military both national treasures

Friday

Dec 13, 2013 at 2:37 PMDec 13, 2013 at 2:39 PM

I never tire of attending military functions at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. The Dec. 7 program was dedicated to the Americans who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor, and to the few living heroes who were present on that “Day of Infamy.” The museum hosted nine survivors of that horrific day in 1941.

By John F. FloydSpecial to The Times

I never tire of attending military functions at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. The Dec. 7 program was dedicated to the Americans who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor, and to the few living heroes who were present on that “Day of Infamy.” The museum hosted nine survivors of that horrific day in 1941. The official name for the program on this beautiful December day was “A Salute to the World War II Generation.” There was a musical tribute performed by a phenomenal high school band and vocal jazz ensemble representing Tate High School of Pensacola.I can tell I am getting older and soft-hearted because every time I see the Parading of the Colors, I can’t control the tears and the extreme emotion I feel as the Stars and Stripes are presented. I was not alone with my obvious patriotic feelings as the majority of the attendees were in my age group. Emotions get closer to the surface with age.I had initially read in the Pensacola Journal that the museum was holding a ceremony to dedicate a restored World War II Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat that crashed in the Pacific in those early days of World War II. A simple ceremony was not to be the case, however. This was a full-blown Dec. 7, 1941, ceremony, not only to honor the men and women of the Greatest Generation, but to honor a man who had flown an F6F-3 Hellcat in combat in the Pacific campaign. This courageous man was Jack Taylor, the founder and chief executive officer of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the largest rental car company in the United States.The company was named after the American aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, from which Taylor flew during his tenure in the Hellcat. He had three combat tours of duty in the Solomon Islands and Rabaul, South Pacific, the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II. Like many Americans, Taylor volunteered for the Navy right out of high school. At a time in his life when he should have been chasing beautiful women and driving hot cars, he was instead introduced to killing and destruction. Taylor belonged to a generation that could never receive enough thanks from a grateful nation. There are no adjectives or accolades to appropriately recognize the many contributions the Greatest Generation made to assure protection of the U.S.The restored F6F-3 was on display in the museum’s presentation hall. During the maddening pace of war material output in the U.S., one Hellcat was being produced every hour, seven days a week, a remarkable statistic. The Hellcats in the Pacific destroyed more than 6,000 Japanese aircraft from 1941 to 1945. The Hellcat presented had crashed on a training exercise in 1945, and was retrieved from its watery grave in 2009. After recovery, the Hellcat restoration once undertaken took three years.Lt. Gen. Duane D. Thiessen, president and chief executive officer of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, was guest speaker. While Thiessen presented many incredible statistics concerning the Greatest Generation, there is one statistic head and shoulders above the rest. In the early days, after the declaration of war on Japan, 15 million men and women of the U.S. volunteered for military service, an incredible number.There was a troubling aspect to this wonderful tribute to the Greatest Generation and commemoration of Dec. 7, 1941. That, of course, was the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, an event that brought the U.S. into World War II. I had forgotten what happened on that fateful day in 1941. I thought I was going to the museum to see the rollout of a new warplane exhibit. Never would I have thought that I would forget a date that had been emblazoned in my mind since I was 6 years old. If I could forget this damnable date, what about the Americans who are far removed from the actual attack that started World War II? Younger Americans don’t realize how unprepared the U.S. was for any kind of war, much less a world war. Fortunately, there were two great oceans separating the combatants that allowed time for the U.S. defense industry to begin the greatest military production output in history, which leads us to military preparedness, a subject of a future commentary.The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is a national treasure for a lot of reasons. Just being in the presence of Army, Navy, Marine or Coast Guard personnel reminds me of the debt owed to the U.S. military. It also reminds me of the military’s commitment and dedication to duty and country — traits that are ingrained in military personnel. In spite of the present disdain of the military by certain White House and government officials, it also is a national treasure, and should have the protection of the federal government.

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